Expanding Best Practices for a Streamlined Literature Survey
An extensive literature review beyond the preliminary framework demands proper planning and a detailed approach. So, let's go a little deeper into best practices and include some extra tips on how to increase your research efficiency:
1. Define Your Research Question with Precision
Be specific: That is, don't ask such broad or vague questions. Instead, narrow down what precise knowledge gap you're trying to fill.
Consider alternative views: While narrowing down your primary question, recognise and include opposing arguments in your literature review. It reflects a nuanced knowledge of the research environment.
2. Identify appropriate databases and sources:
Don't only look at popular ones: Instead of relying only on the top databases, make sure to look for niche databases targeted at your domain and topic area.
Utilise scholarly search engines: Although Google Scholar can be used as a search engine, be as specific as possible to find discipline-based ones such as PubMed (health sciences), JSTOR (arts & humanities), or ScienceDirect (science & technology) for the job.
Consult librarian: Librarians are very useful when using challenging database systems and sources. Seek specific search strategies or recommendations from librarians.
3. Keyword Researching
Brainstorming keywords: This requires one to have an overall list of detailed keywords regarding their research question. Consider having a list that incorporates synonyms, related terms, and broader concepts.
Boolean operators: The Boolean operators include the words AND, OR, and NOT. These give a chance of reducing the size of your finding as you can group or eliminate unrelated matters.
Truncation and Wildcards: Truncation symbols (*) and wildcards (?) are used to capture variations of keywords and expand the scope of the search.
Subject headings: Use subject headings available in individual databases. These controlled vocabularyes will help you identify relevant research material quickly.
4. Critically evaluate sources:
Methodology: Assess the research methods used in each source. Are they appropriate for the research question and produce valid results?
Data analysis: Verify if the data analysis is sound and logically rigorous.
Source credibility: Find out what organisation the author is affiliated with, which publication venue the piece comes from, and what possible biases may have influenced the results.
Citation checking: Do research on all cited sources. This can take you to relevant literature that is used by respected scholars and exposes the leading researchers in your field.
5. Organise Your References Efficiently:
Use a reference manager: As discussed above, reference management tools such as Mendeley or Zotero are essential for efficiently storing, organising, and annotating your references.
Organise clearly: Organise your references by themes, methodologies, or publication dates. This makes it easy to retrieve and analyse.
Use tags and annotations: Add tags and annotations to your references to capture key insights, identify strengths and weaknesses, and track your thoughts on each source.
6. Note-taking and Synthesis
Choose a note-taking system: Use mind maps, summaries, or detailed annotations.
Capture the key points: The main findings, methodologies, and conclusions for each source
Identify repeating themes: Identify how different sources speak to your research question and what, if any patterns or trends begin to emerge.
Integrate information: Do not plagiarise each source by rewriting. Instead, try to write a coherent story that summarises and interprets your findings for your literature review.
7. Correctly Cite Your Sources:
Ethical research: Do not plagiarise, but correctly cite every borrowed piece of information.
Choose one citation style: Use any of the widely recognised citation style guides: APA, MLA, and Chicago. Most reference managers automatically generate citations in a uniform and accurate way.
Double-check citations: Before finalising your work, make sure all the citations are accurate and complete.
More Tips:
Set realistic goals: Do not try to read everything; focus on the most relevant and impactful sources.
Schedule breaks: Take breaks to avoid information overload and revisit your research question from time to time. This keeps your mind fresh and prevents burnout.
Activate citation alerts: A citation alert in any database ensures timely updates on publications in the same domain.
Join research communities online: Register for appropriate forums, conferences, and research groups. This will offer guidance and networking opportunities with fellow scholars who have worked in the same area.
Third-party review: Discuss your literature review with peers or colleagues to receive feedback and recommendations.
Following these best practices and being keen in your approach, you can carry out an all-encompassing and insightful literature survey that will give a very strong foundation for your research ventures. Remember, a well-executed literature survey is the groundwork for original research that meaningfully contributes to your field.